Combined clock and bell



(NoModel.)

A. M. LANE.

COMBINED CLOCK AND BELL.

No. 419,686. Patented Jan. 21,1890.

27W JWM' l@ UNITED STATES V PATENT OFFICE.

ALMERON M. LANE, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT.

COMBINED CLOCK AND BELL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 419,686, dated January 21, 1890.

A Application filed August 17, 1889- Serial No. 321,080. (No model.)

To aZZ whom t may concern.

Beit known that I, ALMERON M. LANE@ citizen of the United States, residing at Meriden, in the county of 'New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Clock and Bell, of which the following is a specilication. 4

My invention relates to improvements in clocks `having a bell for the ringing mechanisln to strike; and the main objects of myim.

Y Fig. 4 is a view showing the under side of the clock and bell with the bell-ringing mechanism removed. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the parts that have been removed from Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a vertical section of detached parts, showing a slight modiiication in securing the parts together; and Fig.. 7 isa vertical section, partly in elevation,` showing parts of a clock. for striking the hour vinstead of ringing an alarm. Y

A designates a case for containing a timepiece of any ordinary construct-ion, the two forming what I term the clock. To the under side of this case I secure a plate S, from which depend four posts 9, the lower ends of said posts being provided with a shouldered and threaded tenon upon which to place fastening-nuts 10. These tenons pass through holes in the bell B and attaching-plate C, and the nuts are screwed up against the under side of said plate, so as to firmly clamp the bell between the shoulders of the posts and the central portion of said plate. In the preferred form I make said attaching-plate with a central hub 12, in the form of a tubular boss, and a larger swaged or struck-up portion 11, the inside of which forms a chamber or recess for the reception of the nuts 10, while the base of the plate is in the form of a flange.

There is a central opening 13 in the bell B, and immediately above the same alike opening 14 in the bottom of the case A. The attaching posts and their plate are also so formed as to leave an unobstructed opening up through the bell and case. I provide the time-movement with a holding and releasing lever 15, the foot 16 of which extends rearwardly in the lowei` part Yof the case to the central portion thereof. The time-movement and alarm-setting mechanism are so arranged as to move this lever forward when the hour arrives on which the alarm is set. This lever and the mechanism for moving it are not peculiar to my present invention, and may be of any known construction, and therefore I consider it unnecessary to illustrate and describe them. EXamples of such mechanisms may be found in my Patent No. 390,786, Oc-

tober 9, 1SS8, and in Patent No. 403,274, May 14, 1889.

17 and 18 designate,respectively` the upper and lower plates of a bell-rin ging mechanism for an alarm, the main parts of said mechanism bein g of ordinary construction, and therefore they require no specic description. The

upper plate 17 is provided with a central oriiice through which the holding arm or wire 19 projects upwardly. The plate 17 is secured, preferably, by means of screws which pass through the holes 20, Fig. 5, into the threaded screw-holes 21, Fig. 4, of the attaching-plate C, so as to hold the plate 17 and connected bell-ringing mechanism and the attaching-plate firmly together. A portion of the attaching-plate C at its edge is cut away, as shown in Fig. L1, in order to make room for the ratchet 26 and pawl 25, Fig. 5, that are secured on the upper side of the plate 17, I then surmount the whole upon the foot or base D, preferably by means of screws that pass through flanges 22, Fig. 3, into the lower plate 1S of the bell-ringing mechanism. Holes or openings should be left in the lower plate 18 to permit the passage of a screw-driver when attaching or detaching the plate 17 and bellringing mechanism to and from the attaching-plate.

It will be observed that the bell is mounted upon the alarm-movement with its lower edge slightly above the foot-piece D and has the appearance of forming a part of the base of IOO the clock. It also covers the bell-ringing mechanism, and ineffect constitutes its ease. The bell-ringing mechanism being secured to the foot-piece and attaching-plate, and the bell and clock being mounted upon said attaching-plate, the frame of said bell-ringing mechanism constitutes the support or standard on which the time-piece is mounted. The holding arm or wire 19, which has a vibratory motion, as in other alarm-clocks, extends up through the orifice in the central portion of the bell to the foot 16 of the holding and releasing lever 15, so that when said lever is thrown forward at the proper time the bellringing mechanism may act in the ordinary manner.

While I have described specilically the plate S, posts 9, and nuts 10, by which the attaching-plate C is secured to the clock and bell, I do not wish to confine myself to such specific construction, as other devices may be used as an equivalent therefor, provided they permit of a central opening in the bell and the passage ot the holding arm or wire up through the bell to the clock. In Fig. (i I have illustrated a substitute for such connec tion, in which a plate 8, that is secured tothe clock-frame, is provided with a tubular shouldered portion 23, threaded externally and passed through a central hole in the bell and attaching-plate C, said bell and plate being firmly secured together by means of the nut 22 on the exterior of the shouldered and threaded tube 23. Instead of providing the attaching-plate with a small central hub, I allow the bell B to rest directly upon the larger swaged or struck-up part 11. The bellringing mechanism and its mode of attachment may be the same as before described.

vWhile I have described my clock and bell as used in connection with an alarm-movement, it may be also used in connection with a bell-rin ging mechanism for strikingthe hou r. Such change requires only that the holding and releasing mechanism shall be operated hourly or half-hourly by the time-piece, and that the holding arm or wire 19 shall extend upwardly through the center ot the bell, dac., from the lock-work post 24 of the bell-ringing mechanism of the strikingclock, substantially as illustrated in Fig. 7, in which 25 designates the holding and releasinglever. The

bell-ringing mechanism for a striking-clock and its connections with the holding and releasing lever 25 and their operating mechanism are not new with my present invention, excepting as they are mounted, as before described. An example of such mechanismsin a striking-clock may be seen in my Patent No. 403,275, dated May 14:, 1889.

l am aware that Patent No. 327,919 shows a watch-stand and electric alarm-bell arranged so as to ring the bell whenever the watch is removed from its stand, andI hereby disclaim the same.

I claim as my invention- 1. A combined clock and bell with the clock containing a tripping device and mounted on the summit of the bell, the bell mounted over and inclosing the ringing mechanism, and devices intermediate said tripping device and ringing mechanism for releasing said bellringing mechanism at the predetermined time, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

2. A combined clock and bell connected together, having the bella'inging mechanism inelosed by the bell, and the holding arm or wire passing through an opening at the central portion ofthe bell, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

3. A combined clock and bell, the bell portion consisting of the bell proper B, an attaching-plate secured within said bell proper, and a separately-formed bell-ringing mechanism secured to said attaching-plate, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

4. A combined clock and bell consisting of the foot piece D, bellringing mechanism mounted upon said foot-piece, the attachingplate C, mounted upon said bell-ringing mechanism, and the bell and clock surmounting said attaching-plate, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

5. A combined clock and bell-ringing mechanism in which the frame of the bell-ringing mechanism constitutes the standard that su pports the clock, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

ALMERON M. LANE.

IVitnesses:

JAMES SHEPARD, lJOHN EDWARDS, Jr. 

